KETO DIET - those who don't have much to lose

Errrica91
Errrica91 Posts: 122 Member
edited November 13 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been on and off this diet for a year maybe and I have lost some but not as much as I need to. I'm in the upper heatlhy range and I don't wanna be underweight but I would LIKE to lose some more. So I've been wondering...if there's someone who already is in a healthy range AND is trying to lose with this diet? Or did in the past... Cause most ppl I know who are on KETO diet are very overweight.

Edit: I've been a low-carber most of my life and after I' ve been diagnosed with celiac disease keto/or really low carb diet was my number one choice. I know that gluten free doesn't equal low carb/keto but processed gluten free stuff makes me sick so I tend to stick to naturally gluten free food (mostly vegetables) and at the end of the day (including my exercise level) that still makes me go into ketosis :)

Replies

  • dinosaurparty
    dinosaurparty Posts: 185 Member
    edited February 2015
    Former keto-er here :) I know that keto tends to benefit people who are very heavy the most. All those massive 27lbs-ever-month losses you hear about are from people who are like 300+lbs.

    When I did keto I noticed that I quickly lost maybe 7lbs of water weight in the first week or so, and then pretty much came to a stand still. It was nice loosing water weight, and it showed a bit, but after that the going was really hard. I found that the diet was so restrictive that I couldn't stick to it for more than a few months. Then I basically dove headfirst into a swimming pool of doughnuts :(

    I think one of the things that causes issues for smaller people on keto is the fact that a lot of ketoers like to talk about how 'you can eat as much as you like, and still loose weight'. That's true if you're morbidly obese, but if you're in a healthy range, it's really easy to accidentally stay at your maintenence level, or even gain because the foods you're going to eat a lot of are very rich in calories. My sister did keto for more than a year, and towards the end she put on weight because of this.

    Use a kitchen scale if you don't already, and just be really faithful when it comes to logging calories. Weight lifting might help move things along too. Some people say that they feel more energetic when they do keto, but I found that I was often too tired to do any cardio.

    Is there a specific reason you chose keto over another diet?
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    edited February 2015
    Errrica91 wrote: »
    I've been on and off this diet for a year maybe and I have lost some but not as much as I need to. I'm in the upper heatlhy range and I don't wanna be underweight but I would LIKE to lose some more. So I've been wondering...if there's someone who already is in a healthy range AND is trying to lose with this diet? Or did in the past... Cause most ppl I know who are on KETO diet are very overweight.
    What exactly are your reasons for wanting to do a ketosis diet? You can lose weight using keto the same as not using it, by creating a calorie deficit. As Dinosaurparty pointed out, keto tends to be more successful with people who have tons of weight to lose, and I agree with the reasons they stated as to why it works so well for that population. With less weight to lose, it will be less about what macro nutrients you eat, and more about calories. I don't know that you will achieve the same satiation effect that larger folks receive from doing keto. I'd also point out that many people tend to gain some weight back when they stop keto. Now if you lost 100 lbs and gain back 15, you still lost 85 lbs. If you lose 10 and gain back 6, well that's not nearly as successful. While I'm not saying you can't or shouldn't try keto, I will say that it might not give you any kind of advantage and it's restrictive nature might even make it harder then doing a simple calorie deficit.
  • twins2x2
    twins2x2 Posts: 30
    I hope you understand that a Keto diet turns more into a lifestyle. Once you add in any of the "forbidden" foods again it doesn't take long to gain back the weight, it's fast. Maybe you should focus on better eating and look at what you can eliminate to lose those last few pounds. Change up or add a new exercise routine.
  • Errrica91
    Errrica91 Posts: 122 Member
    twins2x2 wrote: »
    I hope you understand that a Keto diet turns more into a lifestyle. Once you add in any of the "forbidden" foods again it doesn't take long to gain back the weight, it's fast. Maybe you should focus on better eating and look at what you can eliminate to lose those last few pounds. Change up or add a new exercise routine.

    I do understand. If I didn't understand I wouldn't be on this diet. Aything to say to the subject? What's YOUR experience with this diet???
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    twins2x2 wrote: »
    I hope you understand that a Keto diet turns more into a lifestyle. Once you add in any of the "forbidden" foods again it doesn't take long to gain back the weight, it's fast. Maybe you should focus on better eating and look at what you can eliminate to lose those last few pounds. Change up or add a new exercise routine.

    Wait, so if they add back in "forbidden"'foods, but remain in a deficit, they will gain all the weight back? Uhhhhh no.
  • dinosaurparty
    dinosaurparty Posts: 185 Member
    elphie754 wrote: »

    Wait, so if they add back in "forbidden"'foods, but remain in a deficit, they will gain all the weight back? Uhhhhh no.

    Many people who do keto do it successfully without paying any attention calories, especially if they have a lot to lose. Not tracking calories is one of those things that's typically encouraged on sites like r/keto, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. Since they're eating high fat/high protein, they can eat less but still feel full. Then when they add carbs back in they may wind up eating way more calories without feeling satisfied, and it becomes easy to start overeating again. A lot of people who drop off the keto bandwagon gain the weight back very fast because of this. I think that might be what Twins2x2 meant.

    You also start carrying water weight again.
  • Sugarbeat
    Sugarbeat Posts: 824 Member
    Good grief now a person can't be low carb even for medical reasons? Reasons she clearly stated in her second paragraph.

    OP, I am not keto, I'm low carb. It's also for medical reasons but unlike you I have a lot to lose. There are a couple of folks on the Low Carber group who are now close or at goal weight that could maybe give you more help. I do think that you'll lose a little slower the closer you are to goal. You may want to watch your calories very closely to make sure you're in a deficit.
  • roxisam
    roxisam Posts: 14 Member
    I am 10 lbs from my goal weight, following a ketogenic diet. I feel amazing and the weight is coming off slowly with a strict adherence to 20 carbs or less/day, moderate fat and adequate protein. You may want to check out ketogenic women on FB. Their advise has been essential to me. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ketowomen/
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    edited March 2015
    vismal wrote: »
    What exactly are your reasons for wanting to do a ketosis diet?

    It's to create work for unsolicited commentators.

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